Detroit Tigers Links: The quick, easy case for Alex Avila as August's AL Player of the Month

AP PhotoIf someone played better baseball in the month of August than Alex Avila, they weren't doing so on this planet.

• Look who has the highest OPS among American League players in the month of August. That would be Detroit's own catcher with an eye-widening 1.202, which is .097 better than Yankees (and former Tigers) center fielder Curtis Granderson.

OPS isn't the end-all-be-all determination of who the best player is, but if Alex Avila ought to win this baby, especially considering he caught 233 of the 260 innings they played last month. Throw in an All-Star start and that's a mighty legendary 31 days for a catcher that few thought belonged on a major-league roster in April.

Now it won't break my heart if someone else is chosen (it likely will be Granderson, methinks, on account of all those dingers and because of where he plays), and there's little real input we as mortals outside the MLB organization can provide. But he played the toughest position virtually every day, played it well and led the league in OPS for the month. Seems irrefutable to me. [ESPN.com Stats]

• Matt Klaassen ganders at the Tigers lineup and, well, you can see where this is going. It's about that daggum No. 3 hole, and not necessarily who should be there, but who shouldn't be. Delmon Young isn't your prototypical third-hitter, he argues, given his splits. Well, Jim Leyland is going to hit Young third because it appears to feel right, critics be damned. [FanGraphs]

• The joy of this season and the winning ways of August can only be enhanced by remembering the low points of the Tigers recent years. In terms of the last 15 years or so, here's one fan/blogger's five worst moments as a Tigers fan. All salient, poignant events, but I would have included the advent of "April in the D." [DesigNate Robertson]

• When I heard that Ryan Braun fell down rounding third on a sure-thing inside-the-park home run, I had to squint a bit because I first thought they meant Ryan Raburn. Because, see, that makes more sense. Nope, they ment the Brewers outfielder. [MLB.com]

• A stop-and-ponder post: if people are saying Justin Verlander (or Curtis Granderson or Jose Bautista) should be "considered" for the MVP, what does that mean? Craig Calcaterra tries to briefly tackle this meaning. Arguing that someone should be "considered" for an award doesn't seem to insinuate that he should be the MVP, just that he should be considered. What's that mean? A great point. A stunning point, actually. The qualifications for being an MVP is that you have to be in the major leagues. I share this link a mere four bullet points after arguing Avila's place as the August AL Player of the Game. And yes, I omitted the language of "consideration." [HardballTalk]

• Division watching: The Oakland A's kept the Cleveland Indians up all night in an attempt to burn their bullpen and cut into their sleepy time for Thursday's day game by virtue of a 16-inning smorgasbord at Progressive Field. What a generous sacrifice by A's to do this to themselves, even if they couldn't pull off the win. Then again, perhaps the game should still be happening, given that it appeared Kurt Suzuki made a valid tag on Cord Phelps before he touched home plate. Human element! [SB Nation Bay Area]

• And the White Sox are now in third place after being tripped up by the Twins at home, 7-6. They're now six games back but still in a wonderful position to gain ground as they get ready for a big series in Detroit this weekend. [Chicago Tribune]